Google saving the world with PowerMeter – an online guide to how much electricity your fridge is using

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Google has announced an odd little scheme it’s calling PowerMeter – which, it reckons, could eventually save us all 15% on our electricity bills.

How does it do this? Well, it probably can’t at the moment – the PowerMeter idea requires you to have a utility company and modern ‘smart’ electricity meter that gives out streaming power usage data. The main gadget for use at the moment is the AWESOME POWER of the HUMAN MIND, which, by having a plug-in that constantly tells you how much money it’s costing you to run the washing machine, Google thinks can prodded into making you think twice before pressing any ‘on’ switches.

The fully-functional PowerMeter system will eventually be offered on Google’s iGoogle home pages, providing real-time, accurate, open-source estimates of energy use, to anyone with the required ‘smart’ energy meters in their homes.

Imagine how great it’ll be sitting at work, pressing F5, desperate to see when your fridge motor has turned on. It will be, I might suggest, ELECTRIFYING.